Hurricane Helen and Milton are exacerbated due to government cloud seeding.

Question

U.S. representative Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed on October 3rd that the government was controlling weather cycles to target red states as the election approached. Paul A. Szypula, a candidate for the US Senate, responded and claimed that the technology used for changing the weather is a stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), a technology designed to create clouds that reflect sunlight into space, cooling the planet in the hope of reversing the effects of global warming. Despite Szypula's claim, this technology, while being developed, has not yet been deployed (according to Santa Clara University).

Comments

Im very skeptical about this claim. Is there actual evidence that this is a thing? Or is it just a conspiracy theory. More evidence of how human technology can affect the weather would be helpful with this claim. You did a good job of citing where you heard this information from. You also brought up a really good point on the SAI technology and what it's used for. The potential for it to address climate change and help.

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It's alarming how quickly misinformation spreads, particularly regarding complex issues like climate engineering. Szypula's reference to stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) implies capabilities that are still in the research phase, not actual practice. Connecting this technology to targeting red states overlooks the natural factors affecting weather and feeds into a conspiracy narrative.

Additionally, it's crucial to evaluate sources critically. If Szypula draws from biased or fringe materials, it undermines his argument. making me doubtful about this claim. Is there any solid evidence that the government is manipulating the weather, or is it just another conspiracy theory? Seeing more documented instances of human technology influencing weather patterns would be great.

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I am very interested in this claim because I wrote about something similar concerning Hurricane Milton and factchecking an article. I am slightly confused by this claim because there is no direct affiliation for who is creating the SAI/ planning on deploying it? Why is this information being spread with no direct link to who is controlling this? I think that would be really helpful in strengthening this claim. It is a very confusing topic that would be hard to debunk, but I think you did a really good job explaining what the claim was and how the SAI would be used. Definitely an interesting topic!

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This is a great fact check. My only suggestion is that I think another sentence or two talking about the technology that is being built and how your source found this information. This is a great fact check which had an argument that convinced me to believe you.

Answer 1

Marjorie Taylor Greene's claim is completely false. She is referencing cloud seeding, which allows the manipulation of clouds to create more rain for a country that experienced a drought or dry climate. According to Suzana Camargo from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia in a BBC interview, "There is no possibility using current knowledge and technology to use geoengineering to modify hurricanes." Hurricane Milton became as intense as it was because of climate change. Warmer seas are caused by rising global temperatures, and can lead to stronger winds as the storm can pick up more energy from the sea (BBC). In addition to the claim's scientific impossibility, Marjorie Taylor Greene is known to be a very far leaning rightist who is connected to QAnon, a group responsible for the creation and spreading of a lot of disinformation and damaging conspiracy theories. Scientists and politicians alike, including President Biden, have publicly denounced and denied Greene's claims, further proving that they are false.

Because of the source and the lack of scientific evidence to back it up, we can deduce that this claim is completely false.

BBC article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2lyzw7xwxo

NBC article: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/hurricane-milton-conspiracy-theory-government-storm-biden-rcna174558

Answer 2

According to BBC article, "No, Hurricane Milton was not 'engineered", There is no technology that allows humans to create and control hurricanes". The article explains that President Joe Biden shut down the claims that cloud seeding was being used to worsen the extreme weather conditions in Florida. The article goes on to quote Jill Trepanier of Louisiana State University, "When we cloud seed, it is because we do not have enough aerosols or water vapor within the atmosphere to see condensation occur, so we try to force it through cloud seeding. Over the Western Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche, that is not a problem. The Earth will make a hurricane all on its own.". Trepanier's expert statement shows that the claims made by Marjorie Taylor Greene and others on social media are misinformation.

Comments

I liked how you referenced the President of our nation during this time, as he is the one running our nation and would be partially responsible for the creation of Hurricane Milton if this claim were to be true. I didn't know anything about cloud seeding, and it's interesting to learn about the true use of it, which proves the claim wrong.

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I think generally the statement from the President is a great source, rather than some off the cuff tweet from a representative with a  history of misinformation. Great source!

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I appreciate your use of a non-American news source, in this case the BBC, on this topic as it is likely to be biased by an American news source.

Answer 3

This is an exaggerated claim. Paul A. Szypula’s X account typically posts right wing content. This is not a reliable source to bet on getting news from. In my own research, many right wing conspiracist believe that the government can control the weather. In this article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-weather-control-hurricane-b2626699.html it explains that the Republican from Georga went on a rant saying “Yes, they can control the weather.” One question is who are they? She said they are listed on the NOAA. She then posts screenshots of the “Weather modification project reports.”  It includes reports of cloudseeding, cloudseeding has no correlation or back up that it allows the government to control our weather.  

Answer 4

This claim is exaggerated and misleading. It is not possible for the government to control or mess with current wether conditions, such as hurricanes. According to CBS News, ""geoengineering could not create or control hurricanes," said Joshua Horton, a senior program fellow studying solar geoengineering at Harvard University. " This expert statement explains that the government cannot control the hurricanes and social media is only spreading false rumors. 

Comments

Hey I agree with your comment. I think that somebody completely was mislead by the claim. Furthermore, your source explains really clearly why it’s misleading and false.

Answer 5

Both of the people mentioned - Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul A. Szypula - lean to the right on a political scale. Hurricanes occur in the south eastern United States and these states happen to be all nearly red states. Since it is an election year, there is likely to be higher tension between the two main parties. It makes sense for one party to conspire against the other in efforts for them to obtain the major of votes. Also, Paul A. Szypula appears to post opinion based right wing content on the app X, not making it factual or a reliable source. On top of all of this, there is no proof or evidence that Hurricane Helene was a result of cloud seeding.

Hurricane Map: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2023/hurricane-risk-map-us-climate/

2020 Election Map: https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/president

Answer 6

This answer is just flat out false because in a BBC article they say that "False claims suggesting that Hurricane Milton was “engineered” and that the weather in Florida is being “manipulated” have been spreading on social media. There is no technology that allows humans to create and control hurricanes." Both Rep. Greene and Paul A. Szypula are on the hard right of the political spectrum and they both regularly push conspiracy theories. About cloud seeding the same article says " Cloud seeding involves manipulating existing clouds to try to produce more rain, for example in countries with a dry climate. 'When we cloud seed, it is because we do not have enough aerosols or water vapor within the atmosphere to see condensation occur, so we try and force it through cloud seeding,' says Jill Trepanier, an expert in extreme weather phenomena from Louisiana State University.'Over the western Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche, that is not a problem. The Earth will make a hurricane all on its own.'"

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2lyzw7xwxo

Answer 7

This claim is incorrect. USA Today speaks on this claim in their article, 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/10/08/nexrad-haarp-doppler-control-hurricane-fact-check/75571222007/

in the article experts debunk the fact saying it is not possible for stratospheric aerosol injection to change weather on such a big scale. So while, yes, SAI can cause changes to the weather it can not make something as big as a hurricane. Geoengineering Global talks about what SAI is. Even though your definition of what SAI is correct, your main claim itself has no evidence besides coming from US Representive trying to push propaganda. Using twitter to show your source when the post itself only includes screenshots isn't good citing. With more digging, it would've been clear this is an exaggerated claim. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/10/08/nexrad-haarp-doppler-control-hurricane-fact-check/75571222007/

 

Answer 8

You did a nice job explaining the claim and the technology! Just make sure to check if any official sources actually mention using stratospheric aerosol injection to control weather. From what we know, the tech is still being developed and hasn’t been used yet. Also, it might be helpful to check if Paul A. Szypula has any real expertise on this topic

Comments

This isn't an extremely helpful factcheck as it doesn't provide any viable information on whether or not the claim is true or false. Although you reference that some of the information may be misleading, you didn't expand on why that is. For example, you said "from what we know,"-- what do we know? Can you provide a source that helps to further support your point? Additionally, you mention multiple times that the author should "check" their sources, while a helpful factcheck would check the sources itself.